Frequently Asked Questions

Mo Cowrys is Kenya's prediction market platform. You trade KES on the outcome of real-world events — sports results, politics, economics, and more. Every market is a Yes/No question. You buy Yes or No shares, and if your prediction is correct when the market resolves you win.

Click Sign In on any page and choose email/password, Google, or phone number. Phone accounts require a verified Safaricom number, which is also used for M-Pesa deposits and withdrawals.

The platform is currently designed for Kenyan users. Deposits and withdrawals run exclusively on M-Pesa rails, so an active Safaricom number is required for moving money.

Each market is a binary Yes/No question. Current prices reflect the probability the crowd assigns to each outcome — a Yes price of KES 0.70 means the market implies a 70% chance of Yes. You buy shares at the current price. If the market resolves in your favour you receive KES 1.00 per share, minus the settlement fee. If it resolves against you, the shares expire worthless.

The bar shows the current Yes probability — the share of the market that believes the event will happen. A 70% bar means Yes shares are trading at roughly KES 0.70 each. No shares trade at the complement (KES 0.30).

Yes. While a market is in Trading status you can sell your shares at the current market price. The price moves as other traders buy and sell, so you may exit at a profit or a loss depending on how sentiment has shifted since you entered.

Trading stops at the close time shown on each market. After that the market enters a resolution window where our operations team gathers evidence and records the outcome. Winning shares are settled to your KES balance once resolution is confirmed.

Markets resolve as Yes, No, or Invalid. Invalid is used when the underlying event cannot be verified, the question is ambiguous, or exceptional circumstances prevent a fair resolution. In an Invalid resolution all positions are returned at cost.

Yes. Markets may be temporarily paused if there is breaking news, a data feed issue, or an operational review. Trading cannot occur while a market is paused. If a pause leads to cancellation, positions are refunded.

Prices are set by an automated market maker and adjust continuously based on trading activity. Buying Yes shares pushes the Yes price up; buying No shares pushes it down. There is no central order book — you trade against the pool at the current quoted price.

Deposits are credited in full with no platform fee. Trading costs are reflected in market prices (the spread between buy and sell quotes). A settlement fee applies to winnings when a market resolves in your favour. Withdrawals carry a processing fee covering the M-Pesa send cost plus a small flat charge.

There is no separate fee line when you open a position. Buy and sell prices include a market spread, so you may receive slightly fewer shares than the mid-price implies. Peer-to-peer trades against other users may include a small taker fee.

The settlement fee is 2% of your gross winnings (200 basis points). It is deducted when the market resolves and your winning shares are credited to your balance. For example, if you hold 100 shares that resolve at KES 1.00 each, you receive KES 98 after the 2% fee.

Deposits are free — the full amount you send via M-Pesa is credited to your balance. Withdrawals include a processing fee equal to the M-Pesa send cost plus KES 10; the exact amount is shown before you confirm.

No. If a market resolves Invalid your full position cost is returned to your balance without any settlement fee.

Tap your balance in the top bar and select Deposit. Enter an amount and confirm with your Safaricom M-Pesa PIN on your phone. Funds appear in your balance as soon as the M-Pesa STK push is confirmed, typically within seconds.

The minimum deposit is KES 10. The maximum single deposit is KES 150,000. A daily deposit cap also applies. These limits are enforced by both M-Pesa and our platform.

Tap your balance in the top bar and select Withdraw. Enter the amount and your Safaricom number. The withdrawal is sent to your M-Pesa wallet via the B2C service and typically arrives within minutes.

The minimum withdrawal is KES 50. The maximum single withdrawal is KES 70,000. A daily withdrawal cap also applies. A processing fee (M-Pesa cost plus KES 10) is deducted from each withdrawal and shown before you confirm. Withdrawals above KES 1,000 may be held briefly for an automated security review.

We verify your Safaricom number to link your M-Pesa identity to your account. This is required before we can initiate STK push payments to your phone and ensures withdrawals go to the correct number.

Most B2C withdrawals complete within a few minutes. In rare cases M-Pesa queues can cause delays of up to a few hours. If a withdrawal does not arrive within 24 hours, contact us via the Contact page or our WhatsApp Channel.

Yes. Payment providers may time out, reverse, or reject transactions. If a deposit fails your balance is not credited. If a withdrawal fails the funds are returned to your platform balance. You will see the status in your History page.

On the Sign In screen choose the email option and click Forgot password. A reset link will be sent to your registered email address.

Phone number changes require identity verification to prevent fraud. Contact us via the Contact page to start the process.

Open positions remain active until their markets resolve. Your balance and any winnings are held until withdrawal is completed. We recommend withdrawing your full balance before requesting account closure.

No. Your KES balance on Mo Cowrys is not a bank deposit and is not insured by any government scheme. Prediction market trading involves financial risk and you may lose funds committed to trades. Only use funds you can afford to lose.

Liquidity refers to the total pool of funds available to facilitate trades in a market. Higher liquidity means you can place larger trades with less price impact — your buy or sell moves the quoted price by a smaller amount. Lower liquidity means bigger trades cause bigger price swings.

Mo Cowrys operates an automated market maker that seeds each market with initial liquidity. Additional liquidity may be added by the platform over the life of a market. Traders themselves also add liquidity when they take positions.

If you see a limited liquidity warning it means the market depth is not sufficient to fill your entire order at the quoted price. The estimate shows the maximum shares currently available. You can reduce your order size or wait for more liquidity to be added.

Yes, indirectly. In thinner markets each trade moves the price more, so large positions may have a higher average cost per share. We recommend checking the price impact estimate shown in the trade panel before confirming large orders.

Mo Cowrys is a prediction market platform. Users are responsible for understanding the laws applicable to their location. Nothing on the platform constitutes legal, financial, or tax advice.

We collect account data (email, phone), payment records, trade history, and usage information needed to operate the platform. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

If you believe a market resolved incorrectly, contact us within 48 hours of resolution with supporting evidence. Our operations team will review the case. Resolution decisions made after a complete review are final.

Use the Contact page on this site or join our WhatsApp Channel for updates and to reach the team directly.